Men's Soccer Travels to Villanova for Non-Conference Finale

Tuesday, October 8

Villanova, Pa.

3:00 p.m.

Columbia University

Villanova

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Lem Photography

Men's Soccer Travels to Villanova for Non-Conference Finale

10/7/2024 5:55:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Watch on FloFC Live Stats Follow @CULionsMSOC

First matchup since 2009

NEW YORK — Fresh off its first victory of the season, the Columbia men's soccer team (1-7-0, 1-1-0 Ivy) will head to Philadelphia to take on Villanova (0-6-4, 0-3-0 BIG EAST) on Tuesday. First kick from Higgins Soccer Complex is scheduled for 3 p.m.

GAME COVERAGE:
Fans unable to attend Tuesday afternoon's game can watch live on FloFC. A subscription is required to access the live video. Fans can also track live stats courtesy of Stat Broadcast. In-game updates will also be provided on the @CULionsMSOC social media accounts.

FIRST WIN IN THE BOOKS
Columbia played its first home Ivy League match of the season on Saturday and earned its first victory of the season, 1-0, over Yale. The Lions got a goal from sophomore defender Jackson ten Oever in the game's 81st minute. The chance came from a corner kick sent in from first-year Peter Chang. It was then headed down by Rafa Romo in the box before ten Oever poked it into the back of the net. The win was also Columbia's first against Ivy League competition since 2019 – the Lions had nine combined draws in 2021, 2022 and 2023 but had not beaten an Ivy League foe since taking down Harvard, 6-1, in the 2019 season finale.

TEN OEVER SECURES DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jackson ten Oever was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week for games played September 30 – October 6. The sophomore defender from Brooklyn scored his first collegiate goal in Saturday's Ivy League victory against Yale. He also bolstered a Columbia back line to its first shutout of the season. The Defensive Player of the Week award is the first of ten Oever's career and the first by a Lion since Michael Collodi took home the honors in September of 2023.

Congratulations to Jackson ten Oever on being named the @IvyLeague Defensive Player of the Week!#RoarLionRoar 🦁 // #OnlyHere 🗽 pic.twitter.com/wualmZ6uYU
— Columbia Men's Soccer (@CULionsMSOC) October 7, 2024

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Three days after finding its first victory, the Lions will now take on a Villanova team that is still searching for its first victory of the campaign. The Wildcats do have four draws to their credit, including a 2-2 scoreline against Penn back on September 24. They fell by just a goal, 2-1, against St. John's (Sept. 28) and are coming off 3-0 loss to UConn this past Friday.

Six different Wildcats have found the back of the net this season. Jordan Cancia, Jorge Garcia and Colby Raymond all share the team lead in goals with three apiece. Garcia has the most recent strike, which came against St. John's. Jason Bouregy, who has one goal, leads the team with 27 shots and 14 shots on goal. Overall, Villanova averages 1.3 goals per game but allows 2.4 per game. Their 2.4 team GAA ranks 191st out of 206 teams in NCAA Div. I men's soccer.

THE SERIES
Columbia and Villanova have met just one other time, which came on October 20, 2009, at Villanova. Mike Seamon scored the game's only goal for the Wildcats, putting them ahead in the 13th minute and hanging on for the win. Columbia had an 8-3 edge in corners for the match, including a 5-1 margin in the second half.

FOLLOW THE LIONS:
For the latest on Columbia men's soccer, be sure to follow the team on Twitter and Instagram (@CULionsMSOC), on Facebook (ColumbiaMensSoccer), or by visiting GoColumbiaLions.com.